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Rush Limbaugh Sacked

(Michael Redman)

Players are evaluated on statistics, and no amount of wanting certain people to succeed is going to complete passes or score touchdowns.

Why would a media bent on unfairly promoting the black quarterback be so harsh on Kordell Stewart and Tony Banks?

(New Ager)

I think you just answered your own question. It's impossible to have any credibility to do it with Stewart or Banks, but with McNabb(who is a very good QB, but not a great one) it's possible to fudge a little.
 
I have listened to Rush for years and I have never heard him make a racist comment.

The Jefferson's theme song for Carol Moseley Braun was a parody. If it's good enough for the Jefferson's how come it's not good enough for Braun?

All the other examples of so-called racists comments smack of political correctness and the liberal's big desire to shut Rush up. It hasn't worked so far, and I doubt it will in the future.

By the way, Rush really likes Condaleeza Rice, Colin Powell, and other black leaders and personalities.

Maybe Rush's only bias is against liberals which is a very smart way to be.
 
Tricky said:

Is it really possible that you and Tony cannot tell the difference between things said during a comedy performance and things said in a serious discussion?

I guess that means that Carol O'Conner was a racist, because while playing Archie Bunker, he made lots of bigoted comments.
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The real question is, how much is Rush on the air, and how much is the acting he gets paid for?
 
hammegk said:
The real question is, how much is Rush on the air, and how much is the acting he gets paid for?
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That's interesting because I have always believed that Rush wasn't really the right-wing firebrand that he plays on his talk show, but just a good actor who was milking that segment of the population. But to see him make a bone-headed statement like that on ESPN, damaging or destroying his long-desired path to credibility, makes me reassess my evaluation of him. Perhaps it was just a bit of his "bad boy" persona that leaked out at the wrong time (was it the drugs? ;) ) or maybe he really is a wild-eyed right wing bigot.

In any case, O'Connor was obviously playing a character (one with a different name from himself). Rush is at least pretending that he is really like that, so even if deep down he is just acting, I have to condem the full-time role he is playing.
 
What I kind of find interesting in this debate is that I haven't seen Rush's defenders are making any claims that he was actually any good as a sports analyst. ESPN didn't hire him because he knows what the hell he's talking about, they hired him because they thought his controvertial persona would increase ratings, and it did. But I haven't heard anyone argue seriously that he was actually any good at the job. Then he goes and makes a statement that pissed off a lot of people. Was it racist? I think so, but that's not the only question here. The fact remains that it angered a lot of people, both players and viewers. ESPN knew that was likely to happen when they hired Rush, but they simply didn't care about the possibility of offending viewers, and they didn't care about actually providing first-rate sports analysis. They only cared about ratings. ESPN is, in my opinion, the real villain here, for selling out their core audience for a few bucks.
 
Okay...Rush was really good on ESPN!!!

He's very knowledgeable about sports and it showed. I guess you detractors don't listen to his radio show or haven't seen him on ESPN.

Rush didn't say anything racist and it's laughable that any of you would think so.

So, Rush said something controversial about the media. Big deal. The media is heavily biased in a lot of ways and many seem to be unconcerned about that.

I guess freedom of speech only applies to liberals.
 
Rush quit! He made some comments that some people found offensive. Reporters say crap about things and people all the time, why didn't he fight back instead of running away. Please spare me the whining about the way he's being treated. If he's got any guts he would have stood up and fought for his beliefs, backed up his comments with facts and quotes instead of cowardly running away.
 
New Ager said:
I guess freedom of speech only applies to liberals.
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Let's see. I observe that you are freely speaking here. You MUST be a liberal.

right?

Lurker
 
DavidJames said:
Rush quit! He made some comments that some people found offensive. Reporters say crap about things and people all the time, why didn't he fight back instead of running away. Please spare me the whining about the way he's being treated. If he's got any guts he would have stood up and fought for his beliefs, backed up his comments with facts and quotes instead of cowardly running away.
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I think thats kinda naive. It was probably a situation where he had the choice of resign or be fired.



By the way, does anyone know if he responded to the drug accusations on his show today? I think the real wus thing is if he gives some kinda "my lawyers won't allow me to talk about it" answer.
 
DavidJames said:
Rush quit! He made some comments that some people found offensive. Reporters say crap about things and people all the time, why didn't he fight back instead of running away. Please spare me the whining about the way he's being treated. If he's got any guts he would have stood up and fought for his beliefs, backed up his comments with facts and quotes instead of cowardly running away.
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That's what I would have thought he would have done (except for the backing it up with facts part). ESPN started out being very supportive of Rush, and then changed on a dime, no? I think he quit when he found out that his drug habit was about to become public knowledge.
 
corplinx said:

I think thats kinda naive. It was probably a situation where he had the choice of resign or be fired.
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I agree. It is possible that ESPN might "reassign" him, but unlikely. It is also possible that they might have said "you can keep your job if you publicly grovel." But I don't think anyone really thinks this decision came from Rush.

corplinx said:
By the way, does anyone know if he responded to the drug accusations on his show today? I think the real wus thing is if he gives some kinda "my lawyers won't allow me to talk about it" answer.
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Although I rarely listen to Rush, if he says anything at all it will probably be a bombastic denial and accusation of the "liberal media".

But you know, even if it turns out to be true, I wouldn't dislike Rush for having the misfortune to get hooked on pain killers. I would pity him. I have lots better reasons to dislike him than a simple human failing.
 
Tricky said:


Although I rarely listen to Rush, if he says anything at all it will probably be a bombastic denial and accusation of the "liberal media".
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He wound up doing a 500 word version of "no comment". The transcript is on his web site.

My guess is, since its a Friday he is probably waiting until Monday to address it. Sort of a "time out". Makes sense.

However, is this the courage his fans expect from "America's Truth Detector" ?
 
New Ager said:

I guess freedom of speech only applies to liberals.
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I'm amused that you try to claim this as a freedom of speach issue. Freedom of speach is an issue of how government interacts with citizens. This is a completely private (as in non-governmental) matter, the government hasn't been involved in any way, shape or form. ESPN is free to hire and fire as they choose, Rush is free to resign if he chooses, advertisers are free to apply pressure as they choose. Freedom of speach simply does not apply here. But hey, when you're short on justification, anything will do, even if it's irrelevant.
 
"I think thats kinda naive. It was probably a situation where he had the choice of resign or be fired."

He may have been given such a choice and would have served himself and his supportors by saying such. Of course you might say keeping his mouth shut was in his contract or other such excuses, but I stand by my comments. If he was pressured or contractually not allowed to comment he can say as much.

But that doesn't address the fact that, as of yet, he has failed to back up his claims. My opinion on him has further solidified. He's a opinionated blow hard (which in itself I have no problems with) who make claims he cannot backup with facts - that's the part that gets to me.
 
Ziggurat said:

Freedom of speach is an issue of how government interacts with citizens.
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That's what I say everytime someone claims that the Dixie Chicks, Tim Robbins, or someone like that has had their free speech impeded.

Hey wait, maybe he meant that people who defend the dixie chicks yet jump on Rush might be acting inconsistent? You think?
 
corplinx said:

That's what I say everytime someone claims that the Dixie Chicks, Tim Robbins, or someone like that has had their free speech impeded.

Hey wait, maybe he meant that people who defend the dixie chicks yet jump on Rush might be acting inconsistent? You think?
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Rush's statement and the Dixie Chicks statement are not the same, and that's not just a matter of which you find offensive or not. The statement from the Dixie Chicks was made on their own time, while Rush said his offending statement as part of his job. So it's quite distasteful for radio stations to punish the Dixie Chicks for a statement not directly connected to the radio stations, but it's quite reasonable for ESPN to have a role in the response to statements Rush made as part of his job there. The two situations are very different, but yes, it wasn't exactly a free speach issue with the Dixie Chicks, it was something else (though again, still distateful).
 
corplinx:

Yes, Rush's "no comment" concerns me. I seriously doubt if he were innocent he would not have said more. It is like he is waiting to see what the authorities have on him, hoping they don't have enought to get him.

If he were innocent I think he would have been trumpeting it immediately. Why open your mouth and possibly say something stupid before you find out what other people know about you? Rush is playing it cagey.

Lurker
 
Lurker said:
Rush is playing it cagey.

Lurker
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No doubt. My guess at this point is that he probably did develop a mean oxycontin habit.

Him doing a no-comment might be related to the enquirer story and the fact that federal authorities may be investigating him.

Why would federal authorities investigate a user after all?

Mind you, if Limbaugh had been busted at any time with as many pills as he was supposedly taking then the charge would be possession with intent to sell (or the two joints and you're out law as I like to call it). My father was once busted for about as much xanax as Limbaugh had oxycontin.
 
New Ager said:
Okay...Rush was really good on ESPN!!!

He's very knowledgeable about sports and it showed. I guess you detractors don't listen to his radio show or haven't seen him on ESPN.
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Rush sucked. He was a detriment to the show. They should have fired him after week 1. All he did was say strange and stupid things to incite the other guys into arguing with him. His analysis was childish and offensive. Just because a guy takes a decisive contrarian position and defends it vigorously doesn’t mean he knows what he's talking about. ESPN might very well have turned on him so fast because they figured it would be a good way to get out of their failed experiment.

Rush always flames out when he ventures into a setting where people have the opportunity to challenge him on the spot.
 
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